Do you remember?
by Countess Orlock
Summary: He rescued her from outside the walls years ago. Despite the chaos that ensued during her life, she always has a smile on her face. And he's not sure if he can keep his straight face for too long.
1. Golden Eyes

"Do you remember that day, Levi?"  
Her golden eyes looking at him so sweetly. He didn't show it, but on the inside, his heart sank and beat heavily.  
Her sleepy smile and overall pleasant demeanor made him feel warm, though that day for him was rather aggravating.

She kept her smiling face as she gripped the blades tighter, her legs preparing to run, her eyes starting to well up with tears.  
"That day when you rescued me from outside the walls?"

(Weeks prior)  
"Amelie Bellerose, quit playing around, that equipment is not for recreational use!" The lively girl rose back up with a smile on her face.  
"I can't help it, I like flying." She covered her mouth but couldn't stifle the giggling. With her dark hair in 2 braids, she indeed looked like a child at play time.  
"These harnesses are for training new recruits on using the maneuver gear, not so you can pretend to be an idiot bird." Her smile disappeared slightly at his harsh words.  
"That wasn't very nice of you, Levi." The older man retained his dead pan expression and said nothing.  
She released herself from the harness, dusted herself off, then turned to smile at him.  
"It's okay though, I know you're just keeping me in line. I am a bit of a delinquent." Never opening her lips, she smiled big until her eyes were closed, and with a sigh of relief, she walked off.  
Once she was out of sight, he exhaled as he felt awkward chills run down his spine. He leaned against the harness pole and slid to the ground. "You are a delinquent." He said quietly as he began to remember the first days of her training. She may be unfocused and slightly juvenile now, but back then was even worse. She made her little puppy crush on him no secret, and her being quite a young girl at the time was not only inappropriate but uncomfortable. The only thing worth mentioning was her innate sense of cleanliness. Having come from an undomesticated way of living, she kept her room rather spotless.  
"I've always wanted to have a modest living. Sticks and leaves weren't going to excuse me from being tidy." She always had such a smile on her face, even that day he rescued her, still smiling ever so sweetly.  
"Corporal, it's time for us to meet." Said a fellow comrade.  
"Yeah yeah." He stood up, dusted himself off, and began on his way.  
"_But you are my favorite delinquent to mess with_."

Several years ago, on a day where the sun shined brightly and the spring air was fragrant with the smells of nature.  
Amelie Bellerose, at the age of 16, was enjoying the warm and splendid day. With her little sister, Christelle, merely 11 years old, they gathered flowers to make little crowns and daisy chains. They were often told to not wander off, as it would be dangerous for children to be seperated from their families. As Amelie grew older, she began to resent her parents warnings. The vast fields of green and trees enticed the explorer in her. But she was only allowed so many feet away from the group. Hers was not the only family, there were a couple of others as well. There weren't very many kids her age, save for one individual named Roman Petrov. Roman was an older boy, just a couple weeks shy of 19, and his affections for young Amelie were anything but less than implied. Roman was a handsome boy, ash blonde hair, hazel eyes, and he smiled a lot as well. Amelie however was quite bashful towards him. She did not share the same feelings for him, but it was different having somebody not of her blood giving her attention.

"Amelie! lookit!" Christelle wasn't good with words, but she was able to grab her older sisters attention to witness the butterfly perching on her delicate finger. The color scheme of the wings captivated both Amelie and Christelle, the golden yellow in sharp contrast to the black lining. It flittered away into the sky, and Christelle wanted to chase after it.  
"Don't go too far!" Amelie called out to her younger sibling. She watched as Christelle jumped about happily trying to recapture the small wonder.  
"I remember you being that young." said a familiar voice. Amelie turned around to find none other than Roman smiling at her.  
"You liked to play with whatever small creatures would come around try to keep them as pets. You'd get so upset when they'd run off, but I told you that they had families too and you felt so guilty keeping them" She smiled back at him. He extended his arm to gently brush a strand of hair behind her ear, staring at her with loving eyes. She started to feel a little uneasy, but still kept smiling. Suddenly it got quiet. And the feeling of uneasiness intensified when Amelie turned around and her sister was nowhere to be found..


	2. Trepidation

Amelié's eyes flew open. She had woken up out of a dead sleep and was breathing heavily. Though she had no recollection of her dream, her heart was pounding and felt a cold sweat all around her. She had only been asleep for a few hours, but feeling wide awake, got out of bed. She opened the window and stared off into the night sky. Tomorrow, the Survey Corps were leaving to continue their duties. She was particularly excited as this would be her first venture, but also, it would be the first time in a few years that she leaves the walls.

"My my, Miss Bellerose up in the window, how beautiful she looks among the stars." said a familiar voice. She looked down to see Roman smiling at her, like always.  
"Care to join me for a spell, Miss Amelié?"

"Why aren't you asleep? You know we have a big day tomorrow." She questioned.  
"I could ask you the same thing." He chuckled slightly.  
"If I could guess, I'd say that I'm so thrilled for tomorrow, my body doesn't want to rest." She flittered her hands.  
"It's funny. We grew up outside the walls, but yet I can't really remember it." He said. Amelié could never forget. She found herself missing the fields of green, the tall trees, the wind that could've easily swept her off her feet and have her sail across the skies. In that moment, the sheer memory had her soaring, her body felt light, and she could almost feel the breeze once again.  
"I could never forget. I honestly can't wait to go back out there." Roman's smile faded slightly.  
"I just want to fly!" she stretched her arms out and grinned gleefully.  
"You do know we won't be using our maneuver gear to travel, right?"  
Amelié stopped flittering her hands.  
"What? Why not?"  
"We're just scouting the area, we'll be on horseback most of the time unless a titan comes by." She put her arms down and pouted slightly. Roman chuckled and patted her head.  
"Don't worry my dear, we'll get to use them eventually. Remember what Captain Levi has told you 1000 times, the maneuver gear isn't a play thing."  
"I just wanna be like a bird. I've always been envious of them, getting to soar across the skies with the wind under their wings. So graceful, and they get to explore the world at a speed us humans can only get to by means of tools. What would I give to have wings.." Her eyes sparkled in the night with total captivation of flight. Roman always found her wonderment delightful. He smiled all the time because she always had a reason to smile.  
Even when the time of disaster struck them, she still smiled afterwards.  
Sadly, the smiles were not for Roman. Inside, this hurt him, but the reason kept her smiling, and that's all he could ask for.  
"Miss Amelié, I believe you should head back to bed. I know you're excited but you're also tired easily." She snapped out of her amazement and sighed.  
"What about you?"  
"I'm planning on heading on up there myself, just want to enjoy the quiet night a little more, it puts me at ease." She shrugged and skipped on up to her room.  
Unlike Amelié, Roman was not looking forward to tomorrow. Though he was also selected to be part of the survey corps, even the thought of having to go back out there turned his insides into knots. The idea of it all had him up for nights on end. He never let it show to anyone though, not even Amelié.

* * *

"Oh my captain, this is so exciting, my first trip back outside and I get to be next to you."  
"Don't get comfortable, Miss Bellerose." Said Levi aversively.  
Amelié continuously giggled like a child and blushed wildly as he let out sounds of repugnance. It didn't help that Hanji liked to tease him about it. In fact, a lot of the squad, including Erwin would nudge him playfully and say things similar to 'Here comes your future wife' and he'd often respond in cold glares and more sounds of disgust.  
At one moment, he noticed Roman glowering at him, quite intensely.  
"Have you anything to say, Roman Petrov?" He scoffed and averted his gaze elsewhere.

"Now Amelié, if there are any particular spots that you are well knowledgeable of, we'll be relying on you to inform us." Commanded Erwin. "Were titans quite rampant in that area? Were you always running from them?"  
".. I've honestly never seen or heard of a titan until that day. So no, they weren't exactly thriving."

* * *

Amelié scanned for her sister everywhere. In a state of panic, she began calling out for her and striding across the field, Roman following behind, warning her to not run too far.

"CHRISTELLE! COME BACK!"  
Suddenly, Amelié's father sprinted to them trying to get her to quiet down, but soon they all fell silent as they discovered Christelle, lifeless in the mouth of a giant.

They didn't move, they said nothing, they froze in terror at the sight of the humanoid beast.  
The screaming of Amelié's mother broke the silence as the monster swallowed the body of Christelle whole, and started to walk towards the group of families. Her father ran back towards his wife and the caravan, and Roman tried to follow but not before realizing Amelié wasn't moving.  
"AMELIÉ, RUN!" But she didn't even flinch. He didn't hesitate to scoop her up and race back. Amelié watched in fear as the monster came towards her.

"_That.. that thing just.. ate her.. it looks like a person.." _  
Soon the field broke out in screams of terror and panic. Some tried to gather their things before eventually dropping everything to flock towards the nearby forest for possible shelter.

"I thought we were safe from titans!" someone called out. The word titan echoed in Amelié's head..  
"_Titan.. what's that.. is that a.. titan?" _She had never heard of a titan before. But she was absolutely frightened of it. The shock still took hold of her as Roman tripped on a tree root and threw her out of his arms. Hitting his head on another tree, he started to bleed and fade in and out of consciousness. He tried to reach for Amelié but was too weak to even crawl to her. And she watched as the monster scooped up her parents and eat them like it was nothing, and soon another one of those things emerged out of the trees. It stomped on some of the other families, either killing or severely injuring them. When the first one set its sights on Amelié, sheer trepidation shot through her body like a cold chill. All she could hear was her own heartbeat as everything muffled out. Roman was comatose a few feet away, and she only a 16 year old girl. They were helpless. Tears ran down her face, her throat failing to produce a sound. They were completely helpless.  
As she prepared to watch herself die, a sudden slicing noise rang through the air, startling her. Before she could comprehend, the titan collapsed onto the ground and began to emit clouds of steam. And then another sudden noise erupted, and the other titan followed suit. In between, she kept hearing blasts of air, like small explosions.  
As she watched the monsters dissolve into nothing, a figure wielding two large blades and very strange apparatus landed in front of her. It was a man.

She then realized that this man was capable of flight, something she always admired of birds. Not only that, he just saved her from certain death.  
"_Is he.. an angel?"_

And with a stern face and calm voice, he quietly asked, _  
_"What are you guys doing out here?"


	3. Wings of Freedom

This man that stood before her was like no one she had ever seen before. He sported a green cape with a strange picture that resembled wings. She wasn't sure to be scared or to be in awe. Amelié truly felt that she was in the presence of an angel.

"It's highly illegal for anyone to be outside the walls that isn't the survey corps. How did you get out here?" She was at a loss for words, who was this deity standing before her, and also, how could he fly?

"Corporal! There are more survivors, though they are severely wounded. How's it looking over there?"  
"We have one bleeding and one who is verbally unresponsive, but other than dirty, she's fine.  
Hey.. can you walk? Are your legs broken?" He asked.  
She tried to respond, but couldn't speak out of shock and awe. He sighed and sheathed his blades.  
"Here, I'll help you." Extending his hand out to her, Amelié froze again, and hesitantly reached for his arm. The sheer contact of her skin on his released an odd warmth throughout her body. His hand was soft, even with the grip he had. As he pulled her to her feet, her legs shook and wobbled like jelly before falling onto his chest. He let out and exasperated sigh and cradled her in his arms.  
"I'm not carrying you all the way back." She just stared into his dark eyes. Her golden eyes staring straight into his lit a cold fire in his stomach, making him slightly uncomfortable, but he chalked it up to nearly being eaten.  
Before long, she was on a cart with only a few of the people she had spent her life with. Four other adults with broken limbs, two crying children, and Roman, laying down next to her. Despite his bleeding bandaged head and incredibly sore body, he still managed to muster a smile while holding Amelié's hand. While being completely enamored with her, she couldn't help but think about the angel who saved her life. She could only see the back of him as he lead the group to an unknown destination.  
The wings on his cape only solidified her belief in angels. She wasn't taught much in religion, all she heard of human like beings capable of flight. Even though she knew of such a thing to be fictional, she held on to some kind of hope that she would become of these beings.  
After all, if giant humanoid monsters roamed the earth, wouldn't that prove that the man who rescued her is a living angel?  
"What is troubling Miss Amelié?" a weak Roman murmured.  
"Do you remember when my father told us about angels? Do you believe in them?"  
"Ha.. indeed, I do."

* * *

As the sun set in the distance, they approached a very large wall made of stone. Amelié's head started to hurt slightly as she felt a slight pang of déjà vu. She had never seen this wall in her life, but yet it was familiar. They entered the walls and soon she was overwhelmed by the amount of homes and people gathered around to watch them come in. All she had known was her family, and the rest of the caravan. Her only friend was Roman. She began to feel nervous and it started to show as she cowered behind the cart wall. It seemed to last forever until she no longer felt the motion beneath her. Slowly, the injured went first, then the children. Levi once again extended his arm to help Amelié out. Though her insides went giddy, she was still very apprehensive on making contact with him. Because she held him in such regard already, she felt unworthy of accepting his assistance, but she wanted to be near him again. After all, he was the light in this entire situation. Her legs wobbled as she stepped foot onto the ground, which then collapsed under her weight.  
"What are you, a lame horse now?" Levi unsympathetically asked. Roman frowned at him but kept his composure as he replied "Her legs might be asleep, she hadn't moved them in quite some time." Levi simply glared back at him. Amelié could almost see the electrical storm between them.  
"Here Miss Amelié, let me carry you." He tried to walk forward on his own but two soldiers held him back and advised him not to do anything as he himself was in critical condition.  
"Don't worry, Miss Amelié, everything will be alright." He said through a pained smile.

* * *

Roman's words echoed through her head as she sat inside a cell. On the other side of the gate was a small group of strange people dressed like the angel, and himself as well, though his cape was gone. She childishly wondered if that meant he took off his wings, and she smiled sheepishly.

"Let's start with why you were outside the walls in the first place. Or moreover, how were you outside to begin with?" A very tall man with blonde hair spoke to her. To Amelié, this man looked like a clean cut version of Roman, except the eyebrows were too serious, and he also looked too severe to be him.  
"I honestly think this girl's broken. She hasn't attempted to speak not once." The 'angel' again coldly responded.  
"The girl's probably in shock. She seemed pretty shook up when you brought her over."  
"I'll say. She's been smiling rather stupidly for someone who just watched their entire family get eaten."  
"I don't think you guys are trying hard enough. Hi, I'm Hanji, what's your name?" Said a girl looking incredibly excited. Amelié opened her mouth, and looked as if it was painful for her to speak, before finally uttering "A.. a.. Amelié.. b-b-b.. Bellerose."  
"That's a pretty name. How old are you, Amelié?"  
"16."  
"And Amelié, how did you get outside the wall? These babies are fortified pretty heavily."  
".. I didn't know these walls existed until today." With that answer, the room fell silent with a couple whispers.  
"You mean you've lived in squalor your whole life? Outside in titan territory?" the tall man said again.  
".. What is a titan?" and again, the room was silent. Levi however, unchanging his expression, leaned forward onto the gate and stared into her soul almost.  
"That giant thing that ate your friends and family? That's a titan. They're monstrous beings and we don't know where they came from, and they're running rampant outside the walls. So how is it you've grown up living on the outside without once seeing these things stomping around or even hearing of them?" Him being close to her, even through the gate, instilled a lot of joy inside her, but in trying to keep her composure, responded calmly.  
"I'm not sure. We did move around quite a bit, so it's possible that we were lucky in avoiding them." She smiled at Levi, admiring his stature. Though he was short in comparison to everyone else in the room, she knew that she was shorter than him.  
"So I guess it's not entirely her fault for not even knowing the walls existed."  
"Amelié, you said you moved around quite a bit. Does this mean you're familiar with those surrounding areas?" Said Hanji.  
"I'm not an expert on them, but I do know my way around. I wasn't allowed to go very far without my family or the rest of them.." When she remembered her family, all that flashed through her mind was visions of her sister and her parents being swallowed up. She went quiet and her smile faded.

"We'll continue this discussion tomorrow. I believe Miss.. Bellerose will need some time to herself." The tall man motioned for everyone to vacate the area. Levi stepped off the gate and left quickly as with everybody. Hanji lingered for a split second and began to leave when she felt a tug on her sleeve.

"Miss Hanji.. I have a question.. Are you guys.. angels?"  
Hanji smiled at her, and shook her head.  
"No, but we seem like it to a lot of people.. so I guess, yeah. We kind of are."


End file.
